BodyForTheAges.org Blog

Have you been meaning to drop those extra pounds?

Whatever your reason, be it aesthetics, athleticism, or heart health, health problem prevention, there’s never been a better time to do it than now.

According to a National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, two thirds of adults in the United States are overweight, and about one third are obese. http://win.niddk.nih.gov/statistics/

Extra weight plays a contributing factor in numerous health problems.  A report recently released from our nation’s capital states that more than 100,000 cases of cancer each year are caused by excess body fat.  Read more here: http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/11/05/obesity.cancer.link/index.html

Weight Loss is not easy, and it takes commitment.  But we all know that commitment will pay off, when we see that we’re increasing our extra energy and self-esteem, along with decreasing our health concerns.

Your time is valuable, and the Body For The Ages Online Wellness Program will show you how to make it count, with fun workouts, wellness tips and anti-aging tips, valuable advice from our very own Panel of Experts, and an online personal trainer available for guidance 365 days a year.

Are you ready to commit to your health and happiness?  It’s the best investment you’ll ever make.

Go to www.BodyForTheAgesNonprofit.org, get your four free gifts, and become part of the Body For The Ages Team.

I heard a great line the other day- “Food is not an activity.”

I thought that was some great advice on how to keep from over eating.  I know that I sometimes do eat just because I’m bored during comericals.

I also try to limit my supply of junk food in my house.  I find if there are chips, I will eat chips until I run out or get full.  If there are cookies, I will eat cookies until I run out or get full.  I fall I have is salad, I will eat salad.  And I can only eat so much salad.

Do you have some tips for eating better?  Please share in the comments section.

Here’s some tips from Pax:

Establish “No-Eat Zones”: This teaches discipline which is a key component of success. Not trying yields tragedy, and effort yields triumph.

Do the “Savor the Flavor” Test: Learn the art of eating slower. Practice makes perfect.

Break One Habit at a Time: You can’t stop overeating, smoking, and drinking all at once. Your initial goal is to adopt the Body for the Ages Nutrition System of eating, the initial goal is not to weight loss.

Table Eating: Only eat at the table. (Never standing, or in a car.)

Don’t Fear Failure: Everybody slips off every course they commit to… sometimes. That’s not failure. You are human. Slipping off course and then quitting - that’s failure.

Make it Fun!: Maintain a positive frame of mind. You’re on your way to building the body of your dreams!

Want to learn more?  Join our Online Wellness Program for help with nutrition, exercise, and overall wellness.  Learn how to live to your maximum genetic lifespan!

Click here.

I stepped on the scale yesterday.

I had been working hard the last week.  I had been eating right.  I had worked out everyday.  Worn myself out lifting weights.  Sleeping 9 hours a day.  Eating salad for dinner.  The whole bit.

And here I was looking at the fruits of my labor: I had gained a pound.

I said a less appropriate version of “Gosh darn it.”

I started getting dressed again, cursing myself and my efforts.  I pulled on my be jeans and tightened my belt.  That’s when I realized that I had reached a tighter belt loop.

Great reminder:  one’s fitness is not just about the scale, it’s about how feel, and how you look, and your waist line.

So I was surfing the internet, like one does, when I came across this article:

Being skinny is no guarantee of a healthy heart
Serious health risks are found equally in fat and thin folks, study shows
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26143255/

Certainly, got my attention.  The article references a recent study that demonstrates that ones weight does not indicate heart risks.  Better indicators of heart risks are age, smoking, and especially inactivity.

“The results underscore how important exercise is for staying healthy, even for people of healthy weight” said Judith Wylie-Rosett, an author of the study.

This is something that Pax has been advocating for years.  As he puts it, a healthy body is not imancipated.  It’s fit.  You don’t want to be merely skin and bones.  You want to have muscle as well as little fat.  You don’t want to look like a skeleton with skin stretched over it.

Hopefully, this study will help move the thinking in the health and wellness fields away from weight loss to exercise.

The psychological dilemma of weight loss is such a dynamic subject it is worth discussing, even if you are not overweight.  The story is a prime example of the market forces of our capitalistic society becoming so powerful, they subconsciously influence the very basics of our daily lives - in this case, the necessary act of eating.  We can’t seem to turn around without the billion-dollar food industry, not only trying to manipulate us, but actually succeeding to do so many times in an unhealthy direction.  Or does anyone really believe a high-cholesterol, high-fat, fast-food hamburger has merit?

Here’s a choice vignette for you.  I actually sat in the office of a CEO of a California supplement company dedicated to producing and marketing weight-loss products.  The CEO unabashedly said that he didn’t care about the dose of his product, except that it should be relatively low, so the price would be attractive to the buyer.  I asked him what the best dose was to yield successful weight loss.  He looked at me as if I didn’t get the message, then replied, “No dose works for weight loss.  Weight-loss products have a lifespan of about 24 months, and then the public gets wise that they don’t work.  By ‘don’t work’ I mean they won’t sell, because none of them cause permanent, healthy weight loss anyway.  The name of the game is to continually come up with new weight-loss products and start the promotion all over again.”

Furthermore, he acknowledged that he could only fool the public for a couple of years and then he would have to start the cycle all over again with some other song-and-dance involving another weight-loss product.  The company is now out of business, but the CEO will likely surface again.

Now here, laid out for you, are necessary simplistic planks for your platform for weight loss.  I have listed them in the order you should address them, because you are wasting your time seeking a positive lifestyle, if you are determined not to put forth effort in the right directions.

• You understand that some effort is required in an anti-aging, wellness lifestyle.
• Cope with your denial system by not blaming outside sources for your undesirable weight.
• Having committed to the above two bullet points, you are now ready to create a positive, rejuvenating lifestyle for long-term weight control success.
• Recognize that you have choices. You can choose a lifestyle for success, not a lifestyle of failure, as has likely been your modus operandi to date if you are overweight.
• The lifestyle you choose should be fun.
• The lifestyle should be easy to implement and to sustain.

There is no need trying to cope with the psychological dilemma of weight loss, unless the lifestyle you choose meets the Art of Wellness above criteria, and you are ready to make a Total Commitment.

Join the Body for the Ages Online Wellness program, and we can help you put your effort towards a weight loss program that recognizes all the above needs.

I know that when I’m implementing Pax’s nutrition system, I lose weight. And I miss pasta.

So, I was excited to find this morning a recipes for zucchini pasta as a substitute in the New York Times.

Here you go:

2 pounds zucchini (or a combination of yellow and green zucchini)

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

3/4 cup tomato sauce(optional)

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan, for serving (more to taste)

1. Using a vegetable peeler, cut the zucchini into lengthwise ribbons. Peel off several from one side, then turn the zucchini and peel off more. Continue to turn and peel away ribbons until you get to the seeds at the core of the zucchini. Discard the core. You can also do this on a mandolin, adjusted to a very thin slice.

2. Cook the zucchini strips in two batches. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. When it is hot, add the zucchini ribbons and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. Cook, tossing and stirring the zucchini, for two to three minutes, until softened and beginning to turn translucent. Adjust salt and add freshly ground pepper to taste, and transfer to a serving dish. Repeat with the remaining olive oil and zucchini. Serve, topping with tomato sauce and freshly grated Parmesan if desired.

Serves four

There has been much concern expressed about the consumption of soy protein by men.  Supposedly, eating soy protein can reduce testosterone levels in men.

This claim doesn’t live up to scrutiny.  Here’s the basis of the concern: One man, in one study, saw a significant reduction in testosterone.  And he had a testosterone level 200% above normal.  Here’s a link to that study. No need to run around like Chicken Little.

A more recent study found NO decrease in testosterone.  Click here to read it.

So, one can make there own mind up.  Personally, I think that the issue deserves more study before one avoids soy protein, and we should see if soy may have testosterone regulation benefits.

Also, there is no dispute about the heart benefits.  The FDA has granted this health claim for soy: “25 grams of soy protein a day, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease.”

So, check out Pax’s protein, formulated to attack heart risks!